Just like the growing SUV crowd, big utes have taken over traditional options.

Belting across the Sahara Desert in Morocco in a US-built pickup truck to the tune of a big block V8 and Craig Morgan’s Redneck Yacht Club, the Titan feels every bit as cliché as holding a hot dog and supersize cup of soda at a baseball game – but we’re miles from the truck’s homeland.

No matter how far away from Mississippi (where the Titan was born) we are, a big truck feeling is omnipresent. And you can absolutely bet this is the lifestyle feeling the Titan will sell on if it makes it to Australia.

And if it does make it, Nissan will take a leadership role producing the first factory right-hand drive pickup truck. It might not hit the unexpected sales heights of Ford’s foray with the right-hook Mustang in Australia, but it could be a move that sees Nissan establish market share before any others catch-up.

Those would be North America’s highest-selling model, Ford’s F-series, and rivals from General Motor’s brands Chevrolet and GMC, as well as Ram and Toyota; the Chevrolet Silverado and Ram pickup are already available but as locally converted factory-backed models.

In the US where the Titan is still a relatively new arrival, now two years into its second generation, it’s battling to get market share.

But it has all the big American pickup truck traits you expect, like a barn-size cab, mile of width between the tray and a big, brumbling V8 motor under the hood.

What do you get for your money?

In the US, Nissan offers the Titan in three body styles across five variants; single cab with 8-foot tray, king cab with 6.5-foot bed and a 5.5-foot crew cab. Variants are S, SV, Pro-4X, SL and Platinum Reserve, priced from around $38,000 to $70,000 in Australian dollars.

The Pro-4X, on test, is a new model that brings better off-road capability and is priced in the middle of the pack.

Features include a 5.6-litre petrol V8 engine that’s standard across the range (borrowed from the Patrol, which shares its platform with the Titan), four-wheel drive, tough 18-inch alloys, spray-on bed liner, Utili-track system in the tray, underbody protection plate, electric heated and cooled front bucket seats, 7.0-inch infotainments system, Rockford Fosgate sound system, dual-zone climate control, power sliding rear window, 12v outlets, 110V general power outlets in the rear cab and tray, and automatic LED headlights and wipers.

There are numerous options available including a 5.0-litre Cummins V8 turbo diesel engine.

Is it bigger than Texas?

The Titan crew-cab Pro-4X we’re in is longer and wider than a dual-cab ute but not by much. The Titan measures 5803mm long, 2049mm wide and 1991mm high, which is 243mm longer, 21mm wider and 114mm taller than the Ford Ranger Raptor. Inside is where the difference counts as the cabin is huge, thanks to a wheelbase that’s 630mm longer. There is space everywhere for a full family to cruise around in complete comfort - even three-across on the rear bench. As an indication of the width inside, the esky-size centre console bin is wide enough to fit a 15-inch laptop and then some.

And when you need to throw an Ikea box in the back of the cab because it’s raining, the seats automatically fold into a flat floor that makes the space even more useful.

It puts breathing room between the occupants and is a genuine alternative to an SUV in how pleasant the interior space is. The tray is also big and would have no issue passing the Aussie-size pallet test, and the addition of a tough wrinkle coating and the Utili-track system are thoughtful. There’s also a household plug outlet in the cabin and tray for charging tools, and it’s easy to see the Pro-4X being a fun work, tow and play vehicle.

What does it lack?

The interior, as spacious as it is, lacks a degree of sophistication but is on par with most utes. To be fair, we’re testing a mid-grade model compared to the plush Platinum variant and, as such, some of the switchgear, touch points and materials to cover big areas are robust and plain in appearance.

Safety tech will be an issue for Australia as things we take for granted, like AEB, are not present, though being based on the Patrol that technology is likely to be available with a few tweaks that Nissan says it will roll out.

Hittin' the road

Sharing some similarities with the Nissan Patrol that underpins the Titan’s platform, it uses the same 5.6-litre V8 petrol engine producing 291kW of power and 534Nm of torque that is plenty of grunt for pulling along the 2690kg pickup. Towing, which we didn’t test, is rated to 5.5-tonne.

The engine builds power smooth and strong, howling with strength to 6000rpm before shifting up a gear. The seven-speed Jatco transmission feels equally silky and for a heavy truck it gets along quick enough, with a manual gear override available for towing.

A 5.0-litre Cummins turbo diesel engine that makes 752Nm of torque is also available, but the petrol motor produces more power which was best felt in the sand dunes. Hitting big dunes and carving around a wide pit we were able to whip up a sandstorm, having fun with the four-wheel-drive system that operates in rear-wheel-drive when cruising along and put into four-high or low using a rotary selector on the dash.

Despite the long wheelbase, the Titan's breakover was good, helped by 269mm ground clearance, stepping over a rocky outcrop and clearing rough terrain. The guts of the car are also protected by a steel bashplate underneath that extends to cover the lower nose upfront.

For a big ute, it's surprisingly capable off-road.

But where the pickup felt at home was cruising along the highway, even with four adults inside the cabin. Looking out from a high-driving position with the V8 pounding along there was no hesitation to overtake, even at high speeds, and the Pro-4X’s unique Bilstein suspension rides with settled compliance over bumps and potholes, feeling easy to steer and position on the road, on par with the same sort of ride and muted agility of Patrol.

Is it going to fit in?

As the craving for lifestyle cars like big utes and four-wheel-drives increases, the Titan becomes more relevant. Sure, there are already options on the Australian market but being locally converted they're mostly pricey compared to the top echelon of dual-cab utes. A factory right-hook Titan might change that, and like it or not, the American pickup looks set to become an Aussie thing.

Alex Rae is Drive’s Melbourne based reporter with over 10 years’ experience in the automotive industry as a photographer and journalist. Having studied both engineering and the arts, Alex understands what makes things tick while appreciating that sometimes it’s all about form over matter…